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Stars Sign Letter Protesting City Opera’s Move

In a rising tide of protest, opera-world stars are denouncing New York City Opera’s planned move from Lincoln Center and calling into question the company’s stewardship.

Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Carlisle Floyd, Sherrill Milnes, Samuel Ramey, Hal Prince and Frederica von Stade were among more than 120 singers, directors, composers and others who have agreed to have their names attached to an open letter criticizing the move, said Catherine Malfitano, the soprano and a former City Opera performer, who took the lead in writing it.

The letter, which was released to The New York Times on Thursday, calls on the company’s board and management to reconsider the move from its longtime home at the David H. Koch Theater (formerly the New York State Theater). “To lose City Opera as a vital part of the Lincoln Center family would be felt as a personal loss to each and every one of us as well as to this great city,” the letter says, “and we find it unnecessary and unacceptable.”

The letter accuses the management of “the dismembering of City Opera, piece by piece, person by person.” In an interview Ms. Malfitano said the reference was to the loss of key officials in recent years as well as the sharp cutback in orchestra and chorus involvement in a shrunken season.

“An opera company is a team, a cohesive family of soloists, chorus, orchestra and backstage and administrative personnel, which brings with it a shared point of view, a richness of context, ensemble values and a nest for nurturing young artists,” the letter says. “If City Opera is transformed into a small ad hoc presenting organization forced to deploy pickup orchestras, choruses and soloists, it can never again achieve these things and therefore cannot retain its identity or its impact.”

George Steel, the company’s general manager and artistic director, and Charles Wall, its chairman, have said that City Opera’s survival depends on reducing spending and cutting costs, part of which they said would come from leaving the Koch Theater.

A total of four operas are planned for next season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Museo del Barrio and the theater at John Jay College, with details expected to come at a news conference on Tuesday.

City Opera’s decline resulted from years of deficits, the economic downturn, leadership turmoil, overly optimistic fund-raising goals, poor attendance and the drastic shrinking of its endowment, much of which was used to cover budget shortfalls. The closing of its theater for the 2008-9 season during renovation also hurt.

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“A thorough and honest examination of the company’s leadership and artistic profile is what is called for,” the letter says. The signatories offer to give advice to the board: “We know opera, and we want to help.”

Mr. Steel declined to discuss the letter, and Mr. Wall did not respond to a request for comment left with the company’s spokeswoman, Maggie McKeon.

Ms. McKeon issued a brief written statement. “Our decision to leave Lincoln Center was not entered into lightly,” she said. “Rather, it was born of very real financial necessity.” Ms. McKeon said the company’s new model “not only reverses a decade-long trend of debilitating deficits, but — equally important — provides tremendous artistic opportunity and a clear artistic vision for moving forward.”

Ms. Malfitano said that help in writing the letter came from Cori Ellison, the company’s former dramaturge. (Ms. Ellison has written freelance articles for The New York Times.)

Other major names who have signed on, Ms. Malfitano said, include June Anderson, Jane Bunnell, Tito Capobianco, Frank Corsaro, Phyllis Curtin, Justino Díaz, Joyce DiDonato, Jake Heggie, John Mauceri, Jan Opalach and Regina Resnik. Many had successes as young singers at City Opera and went on to major international careers.

Ms. Malfitano said she felt encouraged to circulate the letter after a recent Op-Ed article in The Times by Julius Rudel, the company’s general director and principal conductor from 1957 to 1979, who took issue with the company’s plans. She also cited the singer Joyce Castle, who had resigned from City Opera’s board in protest and who also signed the letter.

A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2011, on Page C2 of the New York edition with the headline: Stars Sign Letter Protesting City Opera’s Move. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe